Homemade gift bags are a great choice for any gift-giving occasion. You can make unique paper gift bags that are sure to surprise all who receive them. These one-of-a-kind gift bags are much more personalized and far exceed the quality of most store-bought gift bags. Surprise someone you love with a gift bag that reflects his or her unique personality and taste.
To make a homemade paper gift bag you will need a plain white or brown paper bag of any size. Lunch bags work very well for this project. You will also need plain poster board, craft scissors, a pencil, a 12 inch piece of ½ inch wide satin ribbon, thick craft glue, and coloring materials of your choice. Colored pencils and fine-tip markers are best suited for coloring on poster board. Glitter glue, small buttons, chenille stems, a paper punch, 1/8-inch wide satin ribbon, and faux gemstones are optional.
To make a unique butterfly gift bag, begin by drawing the outline of a butterfly on the dull side of a sheet of poster board. Make the outline about 2 inches wider than the width of the bag you plan on using for the project. After drawing the outline, cut it out and trace around it on the poster board. Cut out the second outline. One will be for the front of the gift bag, and the other will be used for the back.
Now you can begin decorating the butterfly cutout for the front of the bag. Use a pencil to lightly draw outlines for the interior of the wings and body. Lightly sketch the details as well. Use either colored pencils or markers to go over the outlines, and fill in the white areas.
Add sparkle to the butterfly by going over some of the colored outlines with glitter glue of your choice. You can also create sparkling dots using glitter glue. Another option is to glue on beautiful faux gemstones. Let your imagination take over, and create a butterfly unlike any other. Set the butterfly aside to dry while you work on the cutout for the backside of the gift bag.
Create a rearview of the butterfly on the other poster board cutout. Draw the outlines on this piece making them exactly the same as the front. Color the back to match the front as well. Add glitter glue accents if you wish. Set it aside to dry completely.
When the front and back pieces have dried, use a paper punch to create two holes at the top of the head for the antennae. Cut a black chenille stem into two pieces approximately 2 inches in length. Attach them to the holes and twist them around your finger to make them curly.
The next step is to make handles for the gift bag. Cut a 12 piece of ½ inch wide satin ribbon in half. Glue the ends of each piece to opposite sides, inside the paper bag. Center them as evenly as possible. Open the bag, and allow the glue to dry.
After the handles are securely attached to the bag, you can attach the butterfly cutouts. Use a moderate amount of thick craft glue to attach the front of the butterfly to one side of the bag. Glue the back of the butterfly to the side designated as the back of the bag. Let the glue dry, and the gift bag is ready to use.
Make other unique paper gift bags such as this by cutting out and decorating other shapes. Subjects to consider are flowers, animals, and cartoon characters. Create personalized gift bags that match the gifts you intend to give, or make the bags according to the preferences of the recipients. Line the finished bags with matching tissue paper, and present the gifts to special people in your life. They’ll surely love these unique and thoughtful paper gift bags.
